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Pandemic will just accelerate the change that was already happening.
High Street Retailers will go bust, as they cannot compete with online warehouse operators. Government will have to reduce the business rates significantly and landlords who own the shop buildings will need to reduce the rents they charge. Retailers will need to make changes to the layout of their shops to make them more attractive, as a leisure experience. If they are offering just racks or shelfs of goods, consumers may think they are not getting anything extra than if they bought online.
As more people work from home, they will be available for home deliveries, so online retailers will gain the sales. The high streets where these homeworkers use to work close to will lose sales.
Travel sector including airlines will see many go bust, more so, if there is a second wave of the virus. Holidays based in peoples home countries or in neighbouring countries will be more popular. Caravans, motorhome sales are going to see massive increases, as people want their own clean spaces. And caravan parks will see more demand as a consequence, but will have to update facilities.
Pretty much every sector of the economy is going to see the biggest changes they have ever gone through and in a very short space of time.

This article in the Indy has some interesting views on how Brexit has affected the Uk's response to Covid.
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/coronavirus-lockdown-government-death-toll-boris-johnson-a9551516.html

Small attachment to an iPhone that cost £288.00.
I know anything that relates to Apple can be very expensive, but what was the attachment ?
Did you return the attachment product in its original packaging ?
How often do you buy products from Amazon ?
How often do you return products to Amazon ?
Could Amazon believe you are buying products to simply try out for a period, with no intention of keeping the products ?

So I make a post and ask you some questions and you then go in and make a response which deals with something completely different and which ignores the questions which I have asked completely.
I don't see how we can move forward on that basis

Thank you.
First of all, this is not chronology so we don't have any sense of the timeline.
It's still rather complicated – but maybe when you produce a chronology it will come more into focus.
However, there are a few things that we can start to tease out.
You say that you accepted £250 in an offer which was intended to reflect distress. Although you say that you accepted this offer mistakenly, it may well be that you have no further rights on this issue because of course it would have been up to you to understand the situation properly before accepting any kind of financial offer.
However, it would be useful to understand the reach of this offer and so please could you post up the offer letter by uploading it in PDF format.
You say that "high-volume messaging" is not explicitly covered in the terms and conditions – but there may be references to "fair use policy" and it may be an interpretive problem rather than looking for words which specifically match your situation. So it will be helpful to know what words Vodafone were relying upon and also what was the extent of your high-volume messaging. Did they give you any warnings.
You say that they referred to terms and conditions which you did not sign. However, it isn't necessary to sign terms and conditions. We would have to understand more about the context – but generally speaking if there is an agreement which refers to terms and conditions from the outset and you then embark upon the agreement and use the services, then all the signs would be that you've accepted the conditions of use. Signed written terms and conditions are generally speaking only required in contracts for property or copyright or shares.
You say that the contract was put in your sole name despite the fact that the company name was on the agreement. We don't have a chronology so we don't see how long this went on for and you don't explain why you didn't raise any objections to this – or maybe you did?
You say that you have sent Vodafone and Lowell an SAR but "so far" you are waiting for a response. This suggests that you sent the SAR some time ago – but you haven't told us anything about when this might have happened.
You are referring to obligations under the Consumer Rights Act but I'm afraid that these obligations refer to contracts between a trader and a consumer – and you are not trading as a consumer so these probably wouldn't apply to you.
Finally, you are worried about expressing a claim in legal language. If you begin a small claim then you certainly don't need any legal language – and in fact that kind of approach simply gets in the way. Also, it seems to me that you are gearing up to bring a court claim – which is fine, in my book – but you haven't identified your cause or causes of action and you don't have a plan.
I think we need to slow down and have a more careful and methodical look at the situation. Otherwise you're simply going to find yourself in trouble

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I had a mortgage with Amber Homeloans for approx. 8 years until 2017 and due to my own poor financial mismanagement, I incurred many fees for arrears, etc. Whilst I accept fault, given the time that has passed, is it still viable to pursue Amber for any excessive fees charged which were greater than the administrative cost to them?

I am about to request statements from them in order that I can collate a list of charges, but perhaps it's not worth my while?

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Advice & opinions of BankFodder, The Consumer Action Group and The Bank Action Group are offered informally & without liability. Use your own judgment. Seek advice of a qualified insured professional if you have any doubts.

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I went ahead with the SAR and received a large pile of paperwork in the post today!

I've been through all the transactions and the fees amount to the following:

30/04/2009 Monthly Arrears Fee £680.07

07/08/2009 Solicitors Costs £623.44

01/12/2009 Solicitors Cosrs £339.71

22/02/2010 Solicitors Costs £323.10

30/04/2010 Monthly Arrears Fee £650.00

10/08/2010 Solicitors Costs £70.50

14/10/2010 Agents Costs £58.75

30/04/2011 Monthly Arrears Fee £150.00

03/01/2012 Rtd Payment Fee £10.00

30/04/2012 Monthly Arrears Fee £50.00

03/09/2012 Rtd Payment Fee £10.00

01/11/2012 Rtd Payment Fee £10.00

30/04/2013 Monthly Arrears Fee £300.00

02/12/2013 Rtd Payment Fee £10.00

02/01/2014 Rtd Payment Fee £10.00

30/04/2014 Monthly Arrears Fee £150.00

TOTAL - £3,445.57

Where do I stand in terms of what can and cannot be potentially reclaimed (if anything)? I fully appreciate the arrears were my fault so it really comes down to a case of whether the fees were fair and proportionate.

The monthly arrears fees seem to have been applied annually and there's no breakdown as to how these were calculated on the transaction history.

They have stated that original fees are core terms of contract and and that they believe hem to be a reasonable estimate of costs incurred, listing activities that are involved with the administration of managing the account. However, as a gesture of goodwill they propose to refund £701.52 for arrears fees that were applied during months where a payment greater or equal to the contractual monthly payment. They state this is in no way an admission of liability on their part.

My thoughts regarding next steps are:

- I write to them to decline their offer

- Ask them to refund the full amount of mortgage arrear fees and 8% statutory interest

- Complete and include a copy of the Simple Procedure Courts Form for the Scottish courts to show my intentions

- If they then fail to pay out, I shall send the relevant paperwork to my local Sheriff Court to initiate court proceedings against them

Does this sound a reasonable course of action, or would I be better to accept their offer at this stage?

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Amber Homeloans have responded, advised they are not contractually obliged to justify how charges were incurred, and refused my claim for a refund of mortgage arrears and returned payment fees.

I intend to now to make a claim via the 'Simple Procedure' in the Scottish courts which is the process to resolve disputes up to £5000.

I've read various accounts on the forum of how people have raised claims via the English courts and have borrowed some of the wording used by others. The Scottish 'Simple Procedure' is very straight forward and they provide a user friendly form to complete which is free of legal jargon.

Do my responses to the following questions look right in terms of raising this claim? My responses are in bold.

Q. What is the background to your claim. In this section you should briefly describe the essential facts about the story behind your claim. You do not need to set out every detail of the story. You should focus on the parts which are important for you to establish your claim.

A. I entered into a mortgage agreement with the Amber Homeloans Limited on or around X for the amount of £X. The Mortgage was settled on or around X upon the completion of the sale of the mortgaged property.

The mortgage was subject to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (UTCCR)

Amber Homeloans are statutorily bound by the Financial Services Authority Regulations - Mortgage: Conduct of Business Rules (MCOB) contained in the FSA Handbook, implemented under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000

Amber Homeloans levied mortgage arrears fees and returned payment fees totalling £2030.07. These were added to the mortgage account and interest was applied.

The charges were levied at a rate which exceeded their administrative costs.

The level of charges were unfair because the breach the requirement of fairness contained in the UTCCR.

The level of charges is also unfair because they are the result of unfair treatment by Amber Homeloans and therefore levied in breach of their statutory duty to treat their customers fairly contained in MCOB (section 12.5)

For this reason, the interest charged on the unlawful charges is also unlawful.

Q. If your claim is successful, what do you want from the respondent?

A. I want Amber Homeloans to pay me:
- £2030.07(charges applied to my mortgage account)
- £1461.91 (compound interest on the charges applied to my account - calculated at average rate of interest between X and X
- £1330.88 (statutory interest at 8%)
- TOTAL - £4822.86
£0.43 additional statutory interest to apply each day until settlement of claim

Q. Why should your claim be successful?A. These charges appear to represent an unfair term of contract which is contrary to the Unfair terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (SI. 1999/2083) I believe their charges constitute an unfair penalty under Schedule 2 of Regulation 5 of the Regulations as they are disproportionately high fees.

The charges levied far exceed any true cost to Amber Homeloans as a result of my breach and any genuine pre-estimate they could conceivably reach.

The Financial Services Authority have ruled that it is unfair and thus unlawful to apply charges which exceed the actual administrative costs incurred.

Q. What steps have you taken, if any, to try to settle the dispute with the respondent.

A. I issued a letter of complaint to Amber Homeloans on 4th February 2019 asking them to refund all mortgage arrears fees including 8% statutory interest. I received a response on 16th February 2019 in which they declined to uphold my complaint, did not admit any liability, however, offered a goodwill gesture payment of £726.52. I declined their offer.

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I raised the claim via the Scottish court's Simple Procedure in early May.

Amber have disputed the claim, and now the Sheriff would like to discuss this case with both parties before ordering a formal court hearing.

The Sheriff has made the following decision:

The Claimant is ordered to write to the court and to the Respondent at least 14 days before the date of the case management discussion to clarify these issues:

1. To state whether he accepts or denies he was contractually bound to make payment of mortgage arrears fees;

2. To explain why he is not personally barred from raising the claim, having redeemed the mortgage, and having accepted the mortgage arrears fees included therein.

The Sheriff, dismisses the part of the claim relating to compound interest charged by the Claimant.

I have been requested to attend a Case Management Discussion along with Amber Homeloans.

At the Case Management Discussion, the sheriff expects both parties to be prepared to discuss the case and to have an open and constructive attitude to the possibility of negotiation or alternative dispute resolution.

Any advice on writing to the court/Amber in relation to the points they've asked me to clarify above?

My thoughts are that I accept I was contractually bound to make payment of fees, however I am actually making a claim on the grounds that the charges were unfair and levied at a rate which exceeded their administrative costs.

Where do I stand regarding being barred from raising the claim on the grounds that the mortgage has been redeemed?

Should I be adding further detail in my response and what should I be preparing in advance of the Case Management Review?

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In response to the court's request, I intend to respond as follows. What do you think?

1. To state whether he accepts or denies he was contractually bound to make payment ofmortgage arrearsfees;

I accept I was contractually bound to make payment of mortgage arrears fees, however my claim specifically relates to the fairness of the fees charged, not whether I was contractually bound to pay them. Consumers were contractually bound to pay PPI and bank charges, both of which were subsequently found to be unfair and unlawful, and in most cases, consumers were refunded in full. The Financial Services Authority ordered the following mortgage lenders to repay customers arrears charges which were deemed to be unfair or excessive:

GMAC-RFC – October 2009

Kensington Mortgage Company Limited – April 2010

Redstone Mortgages Limited – July 2010

DB Mortgages – February 2011

In each of the above cases, the lenders were ordered to repay the unfair charges in full.

The charges applied to my mortgage account by Amber Homeloans were levied at a rate which exceeded their administrative costs, and thus breach the requirement of fairness in the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999. Other than stating generic tasks associated with the administration of the mortgage Amber Homeloans have been unable to prove that the charges were reflective of their actual administrative costs. The Financial Services Authority have ruled that it is unfair and thus unlawful to apply charges which exceed the actual administrative costs incurred, regardless of whether the customer was contractually bound to make payment of them.

2. To explain why he is not personally barred from raising the claim, having redeemed themortgage, and having accepted themortgage arrearsfees included therein.

With regards to Amber Homeloans defence that I am barred from raising the claim as a result of redeeming the mortgage in 2017, I wish to refer to the guidance issued by the Financial Ombudsman Service who state that consumers can reclaim fees from as far back as they wish, as long as the complaint is made within 3 years of realising they could. Whilst Amber Homeloans advised me of the fees applied throughout the term of the mortgage, I only became aware that they were unfair and excessive in January 2019. Whilst I accept that there was media coverage of the FSA decisions against various lenders in 2009 and 2010, I was not aware of these cases until I investigated the matter further following receipt of information from Amber Homeloans received in January 2019 as a result of my Subject Access Request.